Down at the Cove

blowing in the wind

Another night without sleep. Sidney stared at the ceiling in his hotel room, unable to close his eyes. When he did, she stood before him again, in the partial shade of the corridor. Her warmth and the scent of her hair still lingered on him. Her big dark eyes hidden under her eyelashes. He could feel her quick breath on his face as he leaned closer to her. Uncertain whether he should kiss her, he waited a moment too long and she had disappeared. Tomorrow morning he would try to talk to her. In bright daylight the subject would not lurk over them as heavily as this night.

Frustrated, he got up and went to the window. He opened it a little further to let in more of the cold, fresh night air. It cooled his heated skin as he unbuttoned his shirt further. The heat that this little person inside him sparked was almost unbearable. The feelings that blazed inside him were not only physical, he knew that. She touched him, in such a deep way that it frightened him.

He sucked in the fresh sea air deeply and calmed his beating heart with slow well-considered breaths. When he stupidly closed his eyes, images of her chased his thoughts again. Not only those of the last days, but also those before that. That dress at the ball. Her face as they talked on the balcony. Those eyes, warm and gentle.

"Oh, boy." he said to himself and shook his head.

As he raised his eyes, a light flickered in Trafalgar house. It was her room, he knew it was. Seized by a longing, he leaned further forward to see better, the angle was not so optimal, but he would be able to see her when she came back to her room and to the window after her nightly walk through the house. It did not take long. For a moment he could see the yellow-golden light of a candle before the room sank back into darkness.

Sidney's heart was beating faster and faster in his chest, the heat that he had desperately tried to escape was now rising up his spine again and crawling across his chest. It spread through his stomach. Seized by a restlessness, he stared towards her window and waited for her to appear. Slowly a disappointment began to spread in him that he had not thought possible. But before he could turn away and go back to bed, she appeared at the window as expected. She pressed her face and upper body against the window pane. Like the nights before.

Oh, God, he could see from here how desperate she looked. He recognized this little furrow between her eyebrows. She was probably frustrated. Her body was freaking out, of this unknown feelings.

Protectively, he tore himself away from the sight of her and looked around, not that anyone else could see her like that. But the street remained silent, not a soul was awake at this nightly hour.

Suddenly he heard a soft squeaking and he lifted his eyes to her again. She had opened the window and was now standing like him in the wind that now freshened. Her eyes closed, her hair was blowing around her face. He could feel on his own body what the cool air was doing and couldn't think of anything else but that her breasts were only protected by her thin underdress, exposed to the wind. His mouth became very dry, he stared over at her. He didn't know exactly what he had expected, but he was stunned by her sight.

Charlotte pulled the neckline of her undergarment forward to be able to see into her neckline better. As she turned her face towards the wind again, she made a small frustrated sound. Now she had finally managed to stop thinking about him for a few seconds when the wind touched her skin. Her body longing for his hands to caresse her again.

No, no, no! she scolded. It was not a caress. He had only put her stockings on, he hadn't touched her since that day down at the cove.

Frustrated, she stamped her foot like a little child and let her head sink into the neck. It had to stop!

When he had accompanied her to her room before, she had really imagined he was going to kiss her! How stupid she was. She shook her head over herself. Of course, he didn't mean anything of the sort. And it wasn't because it was at his brother's house and late at night. It was simply because the whole thing was a...fun game for him and he was making fun of her. Yeah, that is it.

Charlotte decided not to think about it anymore and to avoid Mr. Sidney Parker. For ever.

She believed that if she avoided him more than she had tried before, these confusing feelings would subside and eventually stop altogether. He felt nothing for her, even though he had previously claimed he did. That could not be. She took a few deep breaths and opened her eyes. Her gaze wandered from the stars above her over the roofs of the adjacent houses, down to where the sea softly rushed, although she couldn't see anything, of course. Something white caught her attention and she let her eyes wander in that direction.

Their eyes locked. Although they were so far apart, they suddenly seemed to be as close as they had been before at her door. His staring gaze immediately ignited the burning sensation in her body that she had tried to get rid of. Her body reacted in a way it usually reacted only to the thought of him. A pull deep inside, the tingling in her stomach that spread all over her body.

She seemed like a supernatural being. The way she stood there silently and calmly in the wind. Her eyes fixed on him as if she could look straight into his heart despite the distance. She grabbed her neck with one hand, as if she was having trouble breathing. Her other hand clawed into the fabric of her nightgown on her belly. Her lips were slightly open, as if she was speaking to him. And although he couldn't understand her words of course, her voice filled his senses. She penetrated him. If they weren't separated by houses and walls he would grab her now and kiss her so fiercly that he would be afraid to hurt her. His hands clenched in fists and his breath went faster. Despite the cold breeze, Sidney's whole body was on fire.

His shirt, now completely torn open by the wind, fluttered around him and stroked his sensitive body. In his head it was her fingers that slowly stroked his skin. Thank God, she could not see the extent of these thoughts! Although only his upper body was visible to her, he still felt exposed and shame overcame him. How could this incredible creature, sweet and charming, stubborn and frustrating, have such a power over him? How was this possible?

As her hand slowly and naturally moved across the exposed skin of her décolleté, her hand was caught on the collar of her nightshirt. Sidney had to swallow and his hand did almost the same. First it lay on his chest and then it moved to his heart. There it remained lying and he hoped she could see what it meant. He felt so close to her that tears came to his eyes, he was glad she could not see it.

Charlotte did the same and put her right hand on her trembling heart. It seemed to Sidney as if she was caressing herself and he couldn't stand it any longer. He'd burst at any moment. He sucked in air and waited.

The wind howled between the houses and something cracked at the construction site. And although it interrupted the spell, they were both happy about it. Charlotte embarrassed and suddenly shy again and aware of her sparse clothing, she locked the window without another glance at him.

Sidney exhaled, apparently unconsciously holding his breath. He too closed the window and fell onto his bed. He closed his eyes and welcomed the pictures of her. Floating completely in the feeling that it were her fingers caressing his chest, he let his hands wander up and down.